Hotel sites with no cancellation fees?

zagfles

luci wrote: »

As I understand it, you are only covered by ATOL for the flights if they are booked as part of a package. You are not covered if booked direct or DIY.

Ah yes, I see you're right, it seems to cover charter flights but not scheduled flights.

But it hardly matters anyway if you have travel insurance, which should cover airlines/transport companies going bust. And most travel agents insist on insurance anyway, rendering ABTA/ATOL cover pretty much irrelevant as you're covered by your insurance anyway!

So I can't see booking a package being a better option in the OPs case. It's likely to be far worse as if he has to cancel due to the pre-existing condition neither ABTA, ATOL or travel insurance aren't going to be any help, and he'll usually lose the whole lot he's pre-paid, instead of just the flight costs.

zenmaster

bagand96 wrote: »

Sites like Hotels.com, ebookers, laterooms.com, expedia etc will always take payment upfront at the time of booking, however it still may have a 100% refund policy.

Not so! Some do, not all, and it also depends on the individual hotel policy.

We booked 5 different hotels in France via laterooms/booking.com for September and did not pay a penny before arrival. All were cancellable up to 24 hours before arrival. In fact, we did cancel and rebook a few as they came on at a cheaper rate.

waynehayes

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Alpharooms allow you to pay a 'cancellation waiver' fee, which is 10% of the booking total. Added together, Alpharooms still come in at less than many of the no cancellation-fee sites.

Steve62

Also watch for flights that get altered, I know of friend who did not "Check: her flight was moved earlier by hours and she missed her flight home with no redress as terms say she should have checked before!..Thomas cook.

orangemonkey

I use hotels.com and have cancelled a couple of bookings without cancellation charges before